Millwall still in contract talks with midfield duo as they announce retained and released list.

Millwall have confirmed that they are in contract talks with George Saville and George Honeyman, as well as pursuing contract extension options for Joe Bryan and Billy Mitchell.

The Lions released their retained and released lists this afternoon.

Saville, a Northern Ireland international, is in his fourth spell with the Lions, including two loan spells, after joining from Middlesbrough in July 2021.

The 31-year-old Camberley-born midfielder started all but one of the Lions’ Championship games last season, as they finished two points short of the play-offs.

Honeyman, 30, signed for Millwall from Hull City in June 2022 and made 40 league appearances last season.

Millwall have decided to extend the contract of midfielder Mitchell, who joined at the U15 level. He has made 155 appearances for the first team. The 24-year-old made 19 appearances in an injury-plagued season, the last of which came in a 4-1 loss to Blackburn Rovers in April.

The club has also exercised an option on 31-year-old full-back Joe Bryan, who joined on a free transfer from Fulham in July 2023 after spending a season on loan with Nice in Ligue 1. Bryan played in 39 of Millwall’s Championship games last season.

Millwall have confirmed the departure of Shaun Hutchinson, a fan favourite, after nine years and 233 games.

Hutchinson’s headed winner against Bristol Rovers on the final day of the 2016-17 season propelled the Lions to a successful League One play-off campaign. The centre-back, who formed an impressive partnership with Jake Cooper, was named to the Championship Team of the Year for the 2019-20 season.

Wingers Duncan Watmore and Aaron Connolly, as well as Scottish defender Murray Wallace, will leave when their contracts expire next month.

Watmore, 31, a former England Under-21 international, joined the Lions from Middlesbrough in January 2023. He appeared in 26 Championship games for the club last season, but had not played since a 5-1 loss to Plymouth in February.

Connolly, a Republic of Ireland international who scored his first goal for Sunderland at The Den in November, joined Bermondsey in mid-January, impressing and scoring after only 30 seconds in a 2-1 home win over QPR on February 1. That proved to be his only league goal in a Lions shirt, and the 25-year-old was released.

Millwall are also in contract talks with Danny McNamara, 26, a graduate of the youth team, Liam Roberts, 30, a reserve custodian, and George Evans, a 20-year-old shot-stopper and youth team product.

Middlesbrough forward Josh Coburn, Chelsea left-back Zak Sturge, Cardiff City holding midfielder Ryan Wintle, and Liverpool left-back Calum Scanlon will all return to their respective clubs, while Millwall will welcome back forward Kevin Nisbet from his loan spell with Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen, as well as fellow striker Adam Mayor and defender Kamarl Grant from League Two Bromley.

Grant is one of seven U21 players who will be back for another year, joining Frankie Baker, Jaiden Celestine-Charles, Ben Drake, Jet Dyer, Jack Howland, and Rafiq Lamptey. U18 players George Beaumont, Elias Mansor, Harry Taylor, Oliver Whitby, and Dean Forbes have all been offered new contracts.

Chin Okoli, Sha’mar Lawson, Kyle Smith, Henry Hearn, Tom Leahy, Oliver Evans, Kavalli Heywood, Ethan Wady, Niino Adom-Malaki, and Dillon Addai have all been released, as have Abdulahi Abdulazeez, Elidon O’Boyle, and Luke Ashburn, all under-18s.

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